The Guardians of the Eternal Phoenix: Wolf Calling
by Eternal Blizzard
Summary: Sequel to TGotEP! Akatsuki is searching for the Tailed Beasts, their purpose-world domination! But who is the leader behind the curtains, is it someone whom everyone expected or someone much, much sinister? Will the Wolf's call lead to the its salvation or will the world be doomed forever? Starts one year before Genin Team Selection.Multi crossover fic.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

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_**A/N: Alright everyone, this is actually a sequel to "The Guardians of the Eternal Phoenix" and as you can see that that story is still in its nascent stage. Why? Because I have been feeling too lazy to write and had recently become rather addicted to Naruto fandom. So this plot has been hovering over my mind for a few weeks…and I wanted to do something about it. Many of the things mentioned in this story will make no sense, but bear with me and ask me any question you want. Some I will not answer because either they are planned to be explained during the course of this story or is already explained in its prequel (I mean whatever I have written till date). So before plunging into this story, I urge you to read up on its prequel, you will get a better understanding on at least some of the elements mentioned here or those that will be in future chapters. And no, "The Guardians of the Eternal Phoenix" is NOT abandoned, not by a long shot!**_

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Six cloaked individuals were gathered around an altar in a dimly lit room. Even though their faces were obscured by the hood of their cloak, anyone else present in the room would feel the aura of immense power radiating off each of the individuals. At the moment have gathered for a meeting but seemed to be waiting for something.

That something turned out to be someone when a door on the far side of the room opened and another cloaked individual walked in and silently took its place around the altar.

"Now that we are all gathered here at last, I would like to know what's so urgent had come up that Liara had to call the entire Order for an emergency meeting?" one of the cloaked individual, a male, asked in a gruff voice.

"I have called all of you because I intercepted a message, a request for help, to be precise, from Dimension 2 while I was meditating." The person who arrived last, now identified as Liara, stated.

That seemed to peak every ones interest. Dimension 2 or more specifically the Shinobi Dimension has been the home to the Shinobis or ninjas from the time when the Third Guardian, who happened to be the first ninja in the home dimension of the Guardians, shifted the last remaining ninjas to that dimension. At that time the ninjas were being actively hunted and killed by people who feared their special powers.

"What is the message? And what is this about 'intercepting' it? Wasn't it meant for us?" another individual, this one a female judging by her voice, inquired.

"It seems that something is actively interfering with the communication pathways between Dimension 2 and this one; the fact that I intercepted it was pure luck. As far as the message is concerned, it was sent by Juubi and…well, it's better if you hear it firsthand."

'…_Juubi…evil presence felt…something…with communication…world too divided…help…_'

Silence reigned in the room as everyone tried to make sense of the distorted and apparently incomplete message.

"What should we do?" Another cloaked member asked, seemingly troubled by the message.

"Is there even the need to do something? Why should we even interfere in their matters? Let them handle it by themselves!" the first individual spoke.

All the individuals, sans two, began arguing among themselves about the best course of action. The remaining two seemed deep in thought and occasionally glanced at each other in silent communication.

"I propose that we send Phoenix and his team to investigate and possibly eliminate this 'evil'" Liara suggested.

All arguments stopped as everyone stared at Liara with what can be best described as an outright incredulous look. _Sending even one Guardian for this reconnaissance mission was ridiculous, but to even consider sending not only the High Guardian as well as both of the Guardians was… plain madness!_

"Have you finally lost it?" one of the figures exclaimed, as most of the others started questioning Liara's mental stability, some even went so far as to suggest Liara being subjected to mental evaluation.

"Calm down everyone, Liara must have some reason to suggest this…idea…right Liara?" the female figure asked.

"Thank you Mirin, yes, I do have reasons for suggesting them for the mission." Liara smiled appreciatively at the figure now known as Mirin.

"…And those reasons being…" the first cloaked figure prompted.

"Impatient as always are we Omnion?" Liara teased. "The mission, officially, is simple as I had already stated. Unofficially however it is twofold, the second being related to Drake's _special_ condition." Liara let the idea sink in.

"But all of us know how Drake and the girls feel about that!" Mirin pointed out. "Two had been problematic enough and had taken the girls five years to get accustomed to each other and the idea of sharing Drake, and this was considering the fact that they are soulmates,…but any more and not even soul mates…I don't know…seems to me like a recipe for disaster…"

"Tell me about it!" Liara groaned exasperatedly. "It has taken me three decades to get them to even acknowledge the idea…god, they are so stubborn! But they have started to grow up to the idea…I mean not this idea, but rather the idea that everything happens for a reason…and sometimes it is better to not oppose them and…just accept them. Just look at Drake's whole life, it's just one big joke of fate…but it had happened for the better. Now we not only have a High Guardian whose powers exceed his predecessor by unfathomable margins, but also two Guardians who were initially not even meant to be so, whose powers nearly matches their predecessor. But the real question is why are they so absurdly powerful…well, you take into account the fact that all three of them…Drake, Fleur and Nymphadora…are creatures of love and desire, they are brought together by their mutual love for each other and their souls bonded by that love, catalysed and cemented by the Ring of Hope and…well, you get the idea…"

"Are you going to force Drake to do it?" Mirin asked.

"Hell no!" Liara shook her head vehemently. "It has to happen by his free will, out of true love and consent of both parties."

"I still don't understand why they need to go there for this. It can be done in their home dimension as well" Omnion pointed out.

"True, but you are forgetting that the people in that Dimension use a watered down version, but a version nonetheless, of the Guardian's source of power. So…" Liara left the sentence hanging.

"…We get extremely powerful warriors and protectors with little or no training, sworn to the cause of the Guardians…" Omnion whispered as the others gasped at the implications.

"Exactly!" Liara exclaimed triumphantly.

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_**A/N: If anybody is wondering, no, this Liara is not the Liara of Mass Effect no matter how much I love that series. About the paring…well it's going to be OC/harem with Naruto being paired with…well, it's not yet decided…maybe I will host a poll! Yup, I think I will do that. In the meanwhile let the ideas come, but remember the OC/harem is set in stone although the number of girls are yet to be decided!**_


	2. Keiko

**KEIKO**

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_**A/N: Well here's the second chapter! Enjoy!**_

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

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Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Lightning—five major forces of nature, and the pride and means of power in the Shinobi World. Since the emergence of the Shinobis and the discovery of the mysterious force called Chakra and the ability to use it to manipulate and control the natural forces, numerous —some small, some big—skirmishes and wars have raged throughout the Shinobi World. At that time the Shinobis were wanderers with no fixed social structure.

Then came the age of clans—groups of people exhibiting the same bloodline or in rare cases, similar views. Fierce wars were fought among various clans, each trying to establish their dominance by means of their bloodline or mastery of a certain elemental force.

Clan wars were bloody and resulted in the extinction of a lot of the less strong ones. Even the strong clans suffered heavy losses and more than once came to the brink of extinction. It made the surviving clans realize that if things kept going as they were, the destruction of the Shinobi World would be inevitable. So similar minded clans began to form alliances and began to settle down with the help of various Feudal Lords giving rise to Shinobi villages. This structure ensured their safety as well as economic prosperity. It soon became evident that shinobis present in different areas exhibited a strong affinity towards certain elements. Thus, emerged the Five Elemental Nations, each ruled by a Feudal Lord, and protected by the Hidden Shinobi villages under his control.

Among the Hidden Villages, five gained prominence because of their size as well as quality and quantity of their shinobis. They were Konoha in Fire Country, Suna in Wind Country, Kiri in Water Country, Iwa in Earth Country and Kumo in Lightning Country. Each village guarded its secrets and population jealously from others using both the natural defences of that area as well as the usual walls, hourly patrols and guards at the gates.

Presently we find ourselves at the village gates of the strongest village in the Shinobi World, Konohagure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, for that is where our story begins.

Izuma and Kotetsu, two famous Chunins of Konoha, were at their usual place on either side of the village gate. These two had been doing this job for the longest time and were…umm, pretty good at it, if one overlooks their occasional bouts of inattentiveness. Presently they were lazily gazing down the road that led to the village, enjoying yet another uneventful day at the job. Well, at least Kotetsu was!

"I am bored!" Izuma complained for what seemed like the hundredth time to Kotetsu.

Kotetsu sighed exasperatedly. "Stop whining!"

"Remind me again why we took this job?"

"Because it was the least troublesome and dangerous one available." Kotetsu replied.

"Riiight! Well someone forgot to mention 'boring' in the job description." Izuma muttered sarcastically. "Man, even a Kyubi attack is welcome at this point. At least that furball will provide some excitement."

"Shhh!" Kotetsu hissed, a slight shiver running down his spine at the mention of the terrifying beast. "Here, I brought my shogi set, let's play."

Izuma glared at Kotetsu. "Why the hell didn't you mention it before?"

"It was fun to watch you whining" Kotetsu smirked.

"Why you…" Izuma growled, getting ready to pounce on his friend.

He was, however, interrupted by a cough from somewhere beside him. Both friends turned around and paled on finding a middle-aged man standing in front of them, sporting an angry scowl on his face.

"H-Higurashi-san?" both guard stuttered in unison.

"Exactly what are you two doing?" Higurashi asked dangerously.

"Umm…" both offered nervously before glancing at each other and exclaiming in unison while pointing at each other, "IT'S HIS FAULT!"

Higurashi rubbed his temple feeling an oncoming headache. "BAKA!" he shouted. The two guards flinched and looked down in shame.

"So Higurashi-san, this is the strongest hidden village in all of the elemental nations?" someone spoke from behind Higurashi. Skepticism could be heard in the tone.

Izuma and Kotetsu noticed only then that Higurashi-san was not alone. He was accompanied by three other people. One them was a tall man of around Higurashi's age. His graying shoulder length brown hair fell stylishly on top his forehead. He had warm brown eyes that were presently conveying bewilderment. His roguish good looks were still apparent even after the ravages of age and the presence of a scar on his right cheek. He was dressed in simple civilian peasant clothes and was carrying a huge scroll on his back.

The two women on either side of him appeared to be his wife and daughter. The older woman was plump and quite pretty. Her eyes were soft blue that glinted with mischief and amusement. Her blue hair was tied up in a traditional Japanese style bun behind her head and she was dressed in a conservative white blouse and ankle length skirt.

The younger woman looked to be in her late teens and blood leaked from Izuma and Kotetsu's nose on taking in her perfectly proportioned hourglass figure. Her shoulder length brown hair was slightly curled towards the bottom and framed her flawless heart-shaped face. Her beautiful brown eyes were narrowed slightly and her mouth was curved downwards in a slight frown. She was dressed in a tight fitting blue top and standard blue shinobi pants. She wore shoes in place of sandals and sported metal shin guards.

"Sorry about this Keiko-san but please don't judge entire Konoha based on these two. These two…" Higurashi glared coldly at the two friends who cowered under his gaze. "…are exceptions."

"I see" the teenage girl, now known as Keiko, said.

Higurashi kept staring at the two guards with his arms folded and drummed his fingers impatiently on his arm. "Well…" he prompted.

"W-Well what?" Kotetsu asked nervously.

"Well are you two going to ask for our papers or keep us standing here for the rest of the day? " Higurashi verbalized icily.

Izuma and Kotetsu stumbled over themselves as they took out the register and a pen. "K-Kindly show your papers and state your names."

"Masumo Higurashi"

"Arashi Hakuto"

"Kasumi Hakuto"

"Keiko Hakuto"

"Everything is in order. You may pass." Izuma declared, handing them back their papers.

"Come let us go see the Hokage." Masumo addressed his companions.

"Umm, Higurashi-san…" Izuma muttered nervously.

"Yes…"

Both the guards jumped forward and clutched his legs. "Please don't complain about us to Hokage-sama!" they both begged. Arashi and company sweat-dropped at the scene.

"And why would I want to do that?" Masumo asked, eyes narrowed slightly.

Izuma and Kotetsu glanced at each other and nodded. "We'll do anything for you in return"

"Anything?"

"Anything!" they both agreed. Masumo grinned inwardly.

"Okay, meet me tomorrow at my house at 6 A.M sharp. Don't be late!" Higurashi warned.

Both guards jumped to their feet and saluted. "HAI!"

Arashi and his family followed a strangely happy Masumo through the village as he led them to the Hokage Tower.

"What are you going to make them do, Masumo-san?" Kasumi asked curiously.

Masumo chuckled. "I have been away from home for more than three months. My house hasn't been cleaned and is sure to be a mess and…I hate having to clean the house. So…" he left the sentence hanging.

"So you are going to make them do it instead. Devious! I am impressed!" Arashi laughed as did Kasumi. Keiko also laughed lightly as she took in her surroundings.

Konoha, Keiko noticed, was very much like a traditional Japanese village in its structural style and décor. It was no different than the rest of the villages she had been to except that it seemed that the people seemed to prefer the color red in their decorations. Keiko mused that it was to be expected, belonging to Fire country and all that. The street was filled with people going about their business. She noticed, with no small amount of annoyance, that quite a number of males were openly ogling her and an equal number of females giving her jealous stares.

Suddenly her enhanced senses alerted her of something approach her, and fast. She glanced in that direction and saw an orange blur in a collision course with her. The orange blur was pursued by a few black blurs that seemed to be shouting at him.

Keiko casually sidestepped to her right just as the orange blur passed her. At that moment she noticed that it was actually a small kid wearing a hideous orange tracksuit. His pursuers passed her moments later and appeared to be ninjas of the village.

"Come back you brat!" she heard one of the pursuers yell.

"In your dreams suckers!" the kid yelled back, as he jumped from roof to roof with surprising grace.

"Who the hell was that?" Keiko muttered as the kid and his pursuers became tiny dots in the horizon.

Masumo laughed heartily. "That was Naruto, our resident prankster from hell."

"Did you say 'prankster'?" Kasumi and Arashi asked, their eyes glinting mischievously.

"Yes. His pranks bring life to an otherwise boring day. Although the targets of his pranks seem to disagree" Masumo informed.

Arashi and Kasumi had devious glints in their eyes. Keiko groaned, "Oh no!"

"What's the matter?" Masumo enquired.

"You shouldn't have told them that, Masumo-san" Keiko said.

"Why not?" Masumo asked, a feeling of dread creeping up his spine.

"Because my parents here are also pranksters and I think that they have just found their newest apprentice." Keiko deadpanned.

"Oh yes! We will pass all our knowledge to him should he prove worthy." Kasumi purred. Masumo paled.

'What have I done? Forgive me Konoha…and Hiruzen' Masumo mentally wailed.

The group soon reached the Hokage Tower which also happened to be the tallest structure in the village. The kanji for fire adorned the roof of the tower.

Masumo knocked on the door leading to the Hokage's chamber. "Enter" a voice answered from within.

Keiko entered the room with the rest and noticed it to be quite a luxurious and spacious room made of polished wood. At opposite end of the room from the door was a large window that spanned the entire wall. In front of it sat an old man, whom she assumed to be the Hokage, with desk full of towering heaps of paperwork in front of him.

"Ah, Masumo-san, it's good to see you all safe and sound" the Hokage greeted.

"It's all thanks to these guys. Without their help I would have been dead a long time ago" Masumo verbalized, indicating Keiko and her family.

"So these are the people you mentioned in your letter?" the Hokage asked.

"Yes. This young girl here is Keiko and the other two are her mother and father, Kasumi and Arashi."

The Hokage got up from his chair and made his way around the desk until he was standing in front of the group. He bowed slightly before them and said "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I am eternally in your debt for saving my friend and a member of my village"

"There is no debt, Hokage-sama. We were happy to help" Arashi responded, smiling slightly.

Hiruzen nodded and sat back in his seat. "So you are the girl that defeated Utakata?"

Keiko nodded with an impassive face. Inwardly however she was sad as she remembered her encounter with Utakata. That was the day when she had seen with her own eyes what man's thirst for more power can lead to. Utakata was just a child when Saiken was sealed within him at the order of the Kirigakure Council. They wanted their own weapon to compete against other villages. Utakata endured isolation and hatred throughout his childhood. It would have driven him mad, had he not found a friend and later sensei, a man named Harusame. Harusame had realized Utakata's pain and hated the fact that he was treated like a living weapon by the village. He tried to remove the beast from within his student but the process went horribly wrong and in his rage and confusion, Utakata killed Harusame.

On realizing what he had done, Utakata fled the village, tormented by his guilt and self-hatred. Soon that guilt made him mentally unstable and he became a menace, often killing people for food and money. When Keiko met him, he was trying to kill her parents because they had refused to part with their belongings. Before dying he had thanked Keiko for relieving him of his burden and told her that he was glad that he died at the hands of someone like her.

"Impressive!" Hiruzen praised. "When I first heard from Masumo I almost didn't believe it. In fact I still find it hard to believe"

"I suppose it is kind of hard to believe that a _young girl_ like me can defeat such a powerful ninja" Keiko said.

Hiruzen winced slightly at the jab. "Now then, Masumo informed me that you wanted to join the Konoha ninja corps."

"Actually I don't"

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow while Masumo looked surprised. "But you said…"

"I know what I said and I still stand by it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it." Keiko interrupted Masumo. Hiruzen prompted her to continue while Masumo looked confused.

"For as long as I can remember, I have been free. I answered to no one except my parents. I loved my life, still do, travelling throughout the Shinobi world, visiting exciting places, training and of course helping my parents in their business. I am not that thrilled to give up that life." Keiko explained.

"So what changed?" Hiruzen asked.

"My parents grew old. Right now, they need to settle down and I need to do my part for the family."

"Dear if you don't want this life you should have told us. We can still go on for a few more years." Arashi said while Kasumi looked tearful.

"That's the thing Tou-san! What will happen after those years? Besides it's not that I don't want the life of a Leaf Ninja, I am just going to miss the freedom the open roads provided." Keiko assured, smiling.

Hiruzen and Masumo were both surprised and touched by this interplay, partly because such sentiments were hard to find these days and also because Keiko was not Arashi and Kasumi's biological daughter. She was in fact an orphan whom Arashi and Kasumi had found during their travels and had raised as their own.

"Now with that out of the way, we have to decide where you fit among our forces. How good do you think she is, Masumo?"

"At least a Jonin, maybe even higher" Masumo replied without hesitation. "For Kami's sake, the kid defeated five Jonin level ninjas with one attack. They were dead even before they knew it."

Hiruzen's eyebrows threatened to disappear into his hair. _Five Jonin level ninjas with one attack!_

"You got to be kidding me!" Hiruzen exclaimed in disbelief.

Keiko huffed "Why is it so hard to believe? I bet your ninjas could do it too! Those guys were not that good. In fact till now of all the ninjas I had faced, I only used more than one attack to defeat a ninja only once and that was against Utakata. He was quite strong!"

Hiruzen and Masumo's jaws were hanging of their faces while Arashi and Kasumi grinned in amusement.

'Just how strong is this girl?' they both thought in unison.

Hiruzen coughed slightly to get his mind back on track. "As impressive as that sounds, I still need to test you. Taking Masumo-san's words and Utakata's defeat at your hands into account, you would be tested for the rank of Jonin. Any questions?"

"What sort of test and when will it be held?"

"The test will remain secret at the moment. You will be informed about it on the day of the test which is day after tomorrow. Meanwhile I suggest you find accommodation in a hotel because until you officially become a Leaf Ninja, you won't be given an apartment. The test will be held in the Chunin Stadium at 11 A.M. You will be escorted there by an ANBU. Any questions?"

Keiko shook her head and left with her parents. Hiruzen waited until the door closed before turning to Masumo.

"What did you find out about this Akatsuki?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In a small room of a local Konoha inn called Leaf Dragon, we find three very familiar people lying on the bed, their naked bodies intertwined together so intimately that it was difficult to tell where one's body started and another's ended.

Nymphadora, who was lying on her side, had her body sandwiched between Drake and Fleur, who were also lying in similar positions. Drake's manhood was embedded deep within her womb and she let out mewls and moans of pleasure with each thrust from Drake; thrusts which were shallow and slow in pace, enough to make her feel like she was on cloud 9 but not enough to push her over the edge.

Behind her Fleur was in no better condition as Drake's nimble fingers danced over her bare skin and played with her womanhood. Being a Veela, she was extremely sensitive to her soul mate's touch and to her torturous delight, Drake knew all of her buttons, just where to caress, pinch and knead to keep her on edge but not allow her to achieve nirvana. She squirmed, wriggled and thrashed but failed to achieve even a moment's reprieve from the delicious torture bestowed upon her because all three of them were bound together by invisible energy strings, curtsey of Drake. It was done so that he could be in the best possible position to pleasure her and Dora at the same time.

"Mon dieu Drake! C'était incroyable! "Fleur squealed as Drake traced a finger along the folds of her womanhood before reaching that special bud of pleasure and gently squeezing it.

Drake grinned as he watched his mates shivering and wriggling in pleasure beside him, their moans music to his ears, their skin velvety soft to his touch. His eyes fluttering close in bliss as he enjoyed the incredible warmth around his manhood and the feel of it being massaged by the wet buttery walls of Dora. He greedily drank in the surreal sight of his two mate's bodies glistening with sweat with beads of it rolling down various crevices of their bodies. Their bonds were fully opened to each other and each one experienced the combined pleasure of all three of them at the same time.

"Oh God, Drake…so hot…so deep…oooh…feels sooo good!" Dora whimpered. "More…more…don't stop!"

Drake lovingly caressed Dora's cheek and gently tilted her head, which was buried in the crook of his neck, towards himself. Dora stared at him with eyes glazed with pleasure and love. He leaned down slowly and placed a tender kiss on her red lips.

The tenderness of the kiss and intensity of the feelings it conveyed, left Dora breathless and brought tears to her eyes. Drake tenderly kissed away those droplets of love and captured her lips again, gently coercing them to open. They parted eagerly allowing him to snake his tongue into her warm, moist cavern. He probed and tasted the insides of her mouth ultimately wrapping his tongue around hers and pulled it inside his mouth. Drake began suckling on her vanilla flavored lollipop eliciting a muffled moan from Dora as she lost herself in the combined pleasure from the kiss and the presence of his hot manhood within her walls that throbbed and pulsed like a second heart.

They parted when air became a necessity. Drake looked up to find baby blue eyes staring at him longingly. He smiled and placing a hand behind Fleur's neck pulled her face towards his. He repeated the kiss he gave Dora moments earlier but added something extra to it that he knew Fleur loved. It was something he had discovered many years back while experimenting with his Shifter abilities to pleasure Fleur. Drake morphed his tongue to make it narrower in width and longer in length. He made it fully wrap around Fleur's wet appendage until her tongue looked as if it was trapped in the coils of a snake. Drake clamped his mouth over Fleur's and played with her tongue, massaging and suckling on it with abandon. At the same time he was also playing with her clit, pinching and rolling it between his fingers.

The combined pleasure was too much for Fleur to handle and her body thrashed around as wave after wave of pleasure shot through her. She cried out in pleasure, her screams swallowed by Drake.

The vibrations in Fleur's body due to the orgasm felt by her body, the surge of pleasure felt over the bond and a particular deep thrust from Drake, pushed Dora over the edge.

"DRAKE!" Dora screamed.

Drake felt Dora's buttery walls clamping on his tool like a velvety vice, squeezing and coercing it to release its load into her waiting womb. The pressure in his loins combined with the persuasive efforts of Dora and the maelstrom of pleasure raging over their bond proved too much for Drake. He let his body take over and gave himself over to his orgasm and filled his love with his seed.

"DORA!"

Drake, Fleur and Dora huffed and panted as each came down from their respective highs. Drake conjured a blanket over their still joined bodies and soon they drifted off to sleep, peaceful and content smiles adorning their faces.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fleur, presently disguised as Keiko, wore a large smile on her face as she raced across rooftops behind a bear masked ANBU towards the Chunnin stadium. She had slept soundly last night and had woken up this morning to the wonderful feeling of Drake's arms around her. She would have loved it even more if his manhood was resting snuggly within the confines of her sex instead of Dora's but she wasn't too disappointed. She had big plans for herself and Drake after she wiped the floor with whoever her opponent would be today.

Keiko's lips turned down in a slight frown at the thought of today's test and the conversation she had with Arashi and Kasumi before leaving for the stadium. She had been nervous about the day's events. She wasn't worried about losing, oh no. She knew she can defeat any shinobi in this dimension with one hand tied behind her back. No, she was nervous about being unable to decide on how to go about her task. She neither knew any hand-signs, nor any jutsus par se. Sure she could do anything any of the shinobis could do, and more but her way of doing it would appear foreign, almost supernatural to the people here.

'Ahhh, I'll just improvise as Drake advised. Who knows, maybe I will even give them a show that they would never forget.' Keiko thought, smiling deviously.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Chunnin Stadium, as the name conveyed, was a stadium built primarily to host the final stages of the Chunnin graduation exam. Today, however, there was no Chunnin exam, yet the stands were littered with many Jonin and higher level shinobis, including the Hokage and three members of the Council, namely Danzo, Koharu and Homura. Why, one may ask. It was because a certain girl, who had peaked the curiosity of many, would be tested for her installation as a Leaf Shinobi.

"So let me get this straight, this girl…Keiko, if I remember correctly, defeated five Jonin level ninjas with a single attack as well as claimed the bounty for Utakata of the Six Tails." a purple haired, fishnet clad, trenchcoat wearing and dango loving kunoichi asked, while munching at a dango stick.

"Yes!" a brutish looking chain-smoker moaned exasperatedly for what seemed like the hundredth time. He didn't know if Anko was chronically forgetful or was it just her sadistic nature to torment others coming into play. He assumed it was the later.

Anko grinned cheekily. 'Yup, definitely her sadistic nature!' thought Asuma.

"I wonder when she'll arrive, it's almost time" an ebony haired woman wearing a strange bandage style dress, put in.

"Say Kurenai-chan, where's Kakashi? He's the one who's going to test her, right?" Anko asked, looking around for any sign of a mask wearing cyclops.

The other Jonins, including the ebony haired woman, now known as Kurenai, around her gave her a 'you really have to ask that' look. Anko rubbed the back of her head, grinning sheepishly.

"YOSH! I HAVE TO CHALLENGE MY YOUTHFUL RIVAL SOON BEFORE HIS FLAMES OF YOUTH DIMS ANYMORE." shouted a green spandex wearing guy whose name incidentally was…Guy!

Everyone in the stadium, including the Hokage, rolled their eyes. If tardiness was a measure of unyouthfulness, then Kakashi had always been and, most probably, always will be the most unyouthful person in Konoha.

At exactly 11 A.M, two people landed in the middle of the stadium grounds. One of them was a bear mask wearing ANBU who left almost immediately, the other was a young woman wearing a blue top, matching blue shinobi pants along with calf length leather boots. She wore an off-white trenchcoat and blue gloves on both hands. A kunai and shuriken holder was strapped to her right thigh. She munched at a dango stick as she took in her surroundings.

Asuma groaned. 'Great, another dango lover! Now all we need is her to be sadistic and lo, we have another Anko! I wonder if Konoha will survive the emergence of Anko II. Hmm, she is quite a looker though!'

Kurenai looked to her side and sweatdropped at the sight of Anko looking at the girl with stars in her eyes. She could guess what was going through her mind and sure enough…

"ANOTHER TRENCHCOAT AND DANGO LOVER, I AM NOT ALONE ANYMORE!" Anko cheered, pumping her fist into the air.

Everyone present in the stadium including the newly arrived girl sweatdropped at her antics. Anko blushed in embarrassment.

"Good morning Keiko-san" the Hokage greeted.

"Morning Hokage-sama" Keiko echoed. She looked at all the Jonins gathered in the stands, eyeing them critically. "So, what's the test?"

"You'll be facing Hatake Kakashi in a one-on-one battle. Anything goes." Hiruzen informed.

Keiko nodded, her eyes widening ever so slightly. 'So they are sending their best Jonin. Good!' "So where is this Kakashi?"

Hiruzen rubbed his temple. "He is running a bit late"

"I see. Ok, I will just finish eating my dango in the meantime." Keiko walked away and sat leaning against a nearby tree. She closed her eyes and absently munched at her dango.

Unbeknowest to everyone but Keiko, two hooded figures stood on the roof of the stadium watching the entire spectacle.

"Kakashi, eh?" one of the hooded figures chuckled.

"They sure are curious about our Keiko, eh Shadow?" the other one asked.

"Seems so" the one named Shadow shrugged.

At that moment another hooded figure landed beside them.

"Nice of you to drop by Talon" the still unnamed hooded figure greeted.

"I was getting bored!" Talon shrugged.

Shadow nodded. "What's this? Looks like that purple haired woman is up to something, my mischief senses are tingling!"

Kurenai had also noticed it but unlike Shadow, she knew exactly what Anko was planning if her devious expression was anything to go by.

"Anko, don't do it! Hokage-sama is present." Kurenai hissed.

"Nai-chan, I am just going to test her awareness, nothing else! Promise!" Anko stated innocently.

"You are not supposed to be testing anything! Anko…" Kurenai hissed.

Anko grinned sadistically and threw a kunai at a presently sleeping Keiko, intending to graze her cheek with it. What happened next, nobody could understand instantly. One moment Anko's kunai was almost at Keiko's face, the next moment Anko felt something embed itself into the wall behind her. Kurenai's eyes widened as a shallow cut appeared on Anko's cheek. She glanced behind Anko's back and found Anko's kunai embedded into the wall. She looked to where Keiko was sitting and saw that she had one of her eyes open and was staring directly at Anko.

"Good aim!" Keiko called after sometime before closing her eye again.

'Just who the hell is this girl?! I-I didn't even see her move a muscle' Kurenai thought, shocked by what had just happened, a sentiment, she noticed, that was shared by everyone in the stadium.

'Fast!' Hiruzen thought. 'I almost didn't see her move!'

Meanwhile, Anko was shocked. Amazed and shocked. She lightly touched her wound and tasted her blood on her fingers. No one has ever been able to do that before. This girl was good, very good! She had not only rebound her attack and injured her but had also not flinched or shouted at her even a bit. Instead she had complimented her aim! She would have to know more about this Keiko.

One hour passed and still there was no sign of Kakashi. Keiko as well as the audience was getting impatient. Another hour passed and Keiko was at her patience's end. She was about to demand the Hokage for some explanation when she sensed an energy signature approaching.

A tall man wearing a mask and sporting silver hair appeared in a swirl of leaves. His headband was tied across his forehead in a slanted fashion covering his right eye. He had an orange book in his hand that he seemed to be engrossed in.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted looking up from the book.

"YOU ARE LATE" the audience shouted in unison.

"Sorry, got lost in the road of life" he muttered sheepishly, giving everyone an eye-smile.

Keiko's eyebrows twitched violently. 'That has to be the most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard!'

"So you are the new girl? Feel free to start anytime you like" Kakashi addressed Keiko before returning his attention back to the book. A tic mark appeared above Keiko's head.

"Aren't you going to put away that book?" Keiko asked, irritated by his laid-back attitude.

"Just because I am reading a book, does not mean I am not aware of my opponent" Kakashi said.

"I see." Keiko muttered. 'Underestimating me, huh? Either he is very good or is way too overconfident. Well, looks like I have to teach him a lesson!' Keiko smirked deviously as she planned her next move.

"Kakashi's gonna regret this big time" Anko whispered. Kurenai and Asuma nodded in agreement.

Kakashi kept a careful eye on his opponent. Keiko was just standing there like a statue. She seemed to be waiting for him to make the first move. 'Huh, that's not gonna happen!' Kakashi thought. He glanced back at his book only to find it missing.

'What the…'

"You have some nerve reading smut in the presence of a lady, Kakashi!" Keiko called.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the sight of his book in Keiko's hand and she was flipping through its pages, her face contorted in angry disgust.

"W-When?" Kakashi gaped at Keiko.

"In the space between you shifting your focus from me to this book" Keiko explained.

'T-That's impossible! How can someone be that fast!'

Back in the gallery, everyone's jaws were on the floor, their thoughts echoes of Kakashi's. Even the Hokage was struck speechless.

'This was faster than even the last time. I barely saw her move!'

"Now I think you ought to be punished for your tardiness," Keiko said snapping the book shut. "This is your punishment for being late and for being a pervert."

Everyone's eyes widened as the book slowly floated up into the air and they positively threatened to fall off their sockets when Keiko clicked her fingers and the book burst into flames. Soon nothing was left but a smoldering pile of ashes.

"NOOOOO!" Kakashi shouted in anguish. 'My book, my precious book! Jiraiya-sama, forgive me! I failed to protect your piece of art!'

In the stands everyone was having different reactions. The women, especially Anko, were staring at Keiko as if she was goddess herself for accomplishing a task that has been the dream of every sane woman in the village.

"You go girl! You are my favorite person!" Anko cheered.

'THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURNS BRIGHTLY WITHIN KEIKO' Guy thought, crying anime tears.

'W-Without handsigns!' Asuma and the Hokage along with the Council members thought, pale-faced.

Keiko grinned. "So now that we have got rid of the…distraction, shall we begin?"

"I hate you!" Kakashi muttered.

"The feeling's mutual" Keiko assured.

Kakashi raised his headband revealing a red eye adorned with three commas.

Keiko's eyes widened in shock. 'Sharingan? But he's not Uchiha!'

"He's already using that!" Asuma wondered in shock.

"I'm not surprised. After that crazy display of speed, he would be foolish not to take this seriously." Kurenai opined.

"Aww, have I impressed you that much that you are already bringing out the big guns!" Keiko mocked. "Oh well, now it will be more fun to play with you!"

Kakashi sweatdropped. 'Oh no, another Anko! I am doomed.'

Keiko took out five shuriken from her holder. "Normally, I use ten for this trick but I have decided to go easy on you." She informed. Kakashi growled lowly.

She threw the shurikens into the air. Kakashi followed their movement and his eyes widened in shock when instead of falling back, they remained floating in mid-air. Keiko smirked and folded her arms under her chest.

The shurikens then zoomed off, each going to a different direction; four of them went and stopped at the four corners of the stadium and the last one stopped directly high above Kakashi's head. Then they began spinning, gaining speed with each passing second until each shuriken was nothing but a black blur.

'What's happening here? My sharingan can't detect any use of chakra! How's she doing it?' Kakashi thought staring at the black blurs with shock.

"Asuma, you have any idea about this technique?" Kurenai asked, shocked and amazed at the spectacle unfolding in front of her.

Asuma shook his head dumbly. "It's definitely wind manipulation…but to do it like this…I have never heard of anything like this!"

"Pay attention Kakashi!" Keiko called. "Ninja Art: Shuriken Crossfire"

All hell broke loose as all the shurikens dashed at Kakashi. His eyes widened as he barely dodged one coming from his right. He ducked immediately to dodge one from his left and another from behind him. He rolled to his side to avoid the coming vertically downwards. He winced as the last one grazed his shoulder.

It didn't end there, the shurikens kept coming back after each pass. To the audience it looked as if Kakashi was surrounded by crisscrossing black blurs. Kakashi was having some difficulty keeping track of the multitude of attacks, even with the help of his sharingan. He took out a kunai and started deflecting the shurikens, but it gave him no reprieve since they kept coming back for more.

Hiruzen and the rest of the audience were watching the spectacle with awe and fear. It was frightening how Keiko had developed such a lethal attack using something as common as a few shurikens. What was even more awe-inspiring and frightening was that she hadn't moved a muscle since the beginning of the technique; the technique which she had done and was controlling without using any hand-signs.

Soon all the number of attacks became too much for Kakashi to keep up and the shurikens finally hit their mark and shredded him to pieces. Everyone's eyes widened in shock while Keiko shook her head in disappointment as she stopped the attack.

"Good use of substitution…" Keiko called and sure enough the shredded body of Kakashi poofed out in smoke and was replaced by a log. "…but…" she threw a kunai at Kakashi who was dashing towards her. Kakashi dodged it with ease but his eyes widened when he felt someone's presence behind him and it was only his instincts that made him duck as Keiko's roundhouse kick went through the place where his head was moments ago. He spun around and went for a kick of his own only to find Keiko's index finger inches from his forehead.

"…a pathetic display of the technique itself." Keiko pronounced and flicked Kakashi on the forehead. Kakashi felt as if he had been hit by a sledgehammer as he went tumbling across the field. He recovered his bearings just in time to use chakra on his hands to jump of the ground and skidded to a halt inches from the stadium wall.

"Wind Style: Gale Force Palm!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw Keiko standing in the center of the ground with her palm facing him and a huge burst of wind approaching him. He had no time to dodge and the technique hit him dead on slamming him into the wall…only to have him poof out of existence.

"A clone" Keiko muttered.

"Was that substitution she used?" Anko asked no one in particular.

"And was that Tsunade-sama's technique?" Kurenai wondered.

"Yeah and yeah! And she used a wind technique! Without handsigns!" Asuma mumbled, looking comically distraught.

"Damn, she's as good as Mikoto-sama!" Anko exclaimed in awe. Mikoto Uchiha was widely known as the Goddess of Substitution for her god like mastery in the technique.

Kakashi hid in a tree thinking what to do next. So far he had been unable to land a single hit on Keiko while she toyed with him.

'Ok, so what do I know about her till now? She has amazing speed and freakish strength and is a wind user. So close range is definitely a no-go. Alright…'

Keiko waited and wondered what Kakashi was thinking. 'I must have scared him!' she thought with a smirk. Her thought was interrupted when she felt a ripple in Kakashi's energy.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

A huge dragon made of fire came out of Kakashi's mouth, as he reemerged from his hiding place, and dashed towards Keiko. To Kakashi's bewilderment, Keiko's smirk widened even further.

"Fire Release: Absorption Sphere!"

'Fire Element too!' Kakashi was shocked as a sphere of red hot flames surrounded Keiko. To Kakashi's horror and everyone else's amazement, the fire dragon hit the sphere dead on and got absorbed into it.

"Thank you, Kakashi! Now it's my turn. Fire Release: Twin Fire Dragon!" Keiko intoned.

The sphere morphed into two fire dragons which wasted no time in attacking Kakashi, twisting and turning around each other and leaving a trail of scorched earth behind it. Kakashi dodged the first one by leaping to his side only to find the second dragon almost upon him. He escaped by quickly substituting himself with a log. At least he thought he escaped because he came out of substitution on the other side of the field only to find that the dragons had changed directions and were charging straight at him.

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu!"

The huge wave of water slammed into the dragons, neutralizing them but covered the entire area with steam as well as flooded the area with water.

'Shit! Bad move.' Kakashi cursed inwardly, unable to see anything through the thick mist.

His eyes widened in shock when he felt a hand on his chest. He looked to see triumphant brown eyes looking up at him. "Nighty night Kakashi! Wind Release: Compressed Gale Force Palm!"

The force of the technique made Kakashi feel as if all his ribs had shattered as he flew across the ground and crashed into the wall with bone-cracking force forming a large crater on the wall. He slid down the wall and coughed up some blood. He felt a kunai at his throat and looked up weakly to the smirking face of Keiko.

"Looks like getting lost on the road isn't very healthy for you, huh?"

"Seems so" Kakashi wheezed.

The thick mist covering the field slowly cleared to reveal an astonishing sight. Kakashi, battered and bruised, was leaning against the wall with a kunai held by his opponent poised at his throat.

"I forfeit!" Kakashi declared.

The crowd was struck speechless. _Kakashi lost!_ Sure everyone had been amazed and impressed by his opponent's prowess but nobody had actually expected him to lose. He was supposed to be the Elite, one of the best the village had to offer. To see him sitting battered and bruised next to a girl who had popped up out of nowhere and looked as if she hadn't been in a fight at all…it was not a sight one sees everyday!

Hiruzen coughed slightly trying to get over his shock. "The winner is Keiko Hakuto!"

Keiko put away the kunai and walked to the middle of the field and bowed to the Hokage as the crowd finally got over their shock and started cheering. The Hokage threw a headband towards Keiko who caught it and was about to tie it on her forehead when she was interrupted by someone.

"So, how was the fight?"

That someone turned out, to everyone's bewilderment, to be…Keiko?

"Hey boss, look what I have got?" the old Keiko grinned widely, waving the headband at the new Keiko who was walking towards her munching at a dango stick.

"Good, now give it here." The new Keiko said holding out her hand.

"But I won it!" the old Keiko whined, holding on to the headband protectively.

A tick mark appeared on the new Keiko's forehead. "Pray tell me what use does a clone have of a headband?"

"Meanie!" the old one complained.

New Keiko rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers. The old Keiko disappeared and a droplet of something red fell on the ground. Keiko snatched the headband from mid-air and tied it to her forehead. She rubbed her temple in slight discomfort as the memories from the clone flooded into her. A particular memory caught her attention and she looked up sharply at the gallery or more precisely at a certain purple haired woman.

Anko backed away slightly in shock as Keiko suddenly appeared crouched on the railing in front of her. She was eyeing her with an expression that felt oddly unnerving to her. Beside her, Anko could feel Kurenai tensed up slightly.

"Sooo, you are the one who threw a kunai at my clone, eh?" Keiko drawled with an emotionless face. Anko gulped.

"Y-Yes!" Anko cursed inwardly for stuttering.

"Hmm…" Keiko muttered, staring unblinkingly at Anko while absently chewing at her dango.

The tension was so thick in the air that Anko could literally taste it. Usually Anko was the one who scared the shit out of people but when someone whose clone literally wiped the floor with someone of Kakashi's caliber and cut her cheek with her own kunai was staring at her like that…well, she was feeling intimidated. Anko wished that Keiko would do or say something, _anything_ instead of just staring at her like that.

"Come with me" Keiko ordered.

"W-What! Where?" Anko exclaimed, afraid.

"To the Dango Pit, you are going to treat me to dango" Keiko explained.

Whatever Anko had been expecting, it wasn't that. She was expecting to be shouted at, punched, thrown around like a ragdoll or even killed…anything but that. Maybe Keiko wasn't as sadistic as she originally thought. Anko felt some of her courage returning.

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked defiantly, a smirk on her face.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock and in Anko's case, fear, as dozens of ice shenbon needles materialized out of thin air all around Anko, poised to turn her into a human pincushion. One of the needles was pointing right between Anko's eyes making her cross-eyed.

"Sorry, but I didn't hear you clearly." Keiko said with a sweet smile that sent chills down Anko's spine.

Anko gulped in fear. "I-I s-said l-let's go!" she squeaked.

"That's what I thought you said!" Keiko said cheerfully. She snapped her fingers and the needles disappeared. Anko let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding in.

"Let's go!" Keiko said and placed a hand on Anko's shoulder and both of them disappeared with a weird distortion in air, leaving a shocked and open-mouthed audience behind.

"W-well I think that's it for today everyone." Hiruzen said aloud breaking the shocked silence that filled the stadium. "Maybe some of you should head up to the dango shop and see if Anko is still in one piece or not."

Kurenai and Asuma nodded dumbly as everyone made their way out of the stadium. Meanwhile a certain silver haired, sharingan wielding cyclops was thinking of only thing…well, two things actually.

'Did I lose to a clone?' and 'She's cute!'

Oh dear!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	3. Bloodline Wars: Part I

**BLOODLINE WARS: PART I**

* * *

_**A/N: Well here's another chapter! Enjoy!**_

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

* * *

The forests surrounding Konoha extended for miles all around and were home to some of the most dangerous creatures in Fire Country. The trees in the forest were tall and their canopies prevented sunlight from reaching the ground the deeper one traversed into the woods. The Leaf shinobis knew how dangerous the forests could be and didn't venture into them except when training or absolute necessity.

The person presently standing in the shadows of one of the taller trees in the denser parts of the forests obviously didn't get the memo because his current posture indicated that he didn't have a care in the world. The person himself looked quite out of place mostly because of his attire as well its quality. The person wore a blue hooded cloak made of extremely high quality material. The cloak was fastened near his collarbone by an ornamental brooch which was shaped like a bird and adorned with what seemed like blue sapphires. The cloak was also had intricate embroidery along its edges making the wearer look like he belonged to royalty. The hood was tapered towards the end making it look like the beak of a bird. The person looked relaxed and seemed to be waiting for someone.

A man appeared in front of the cloaked person in a swirl of water. The man was chubby with a round face adorned by potrubent eyes and full lips, giving him a slightly moronic look. He wore simple civilian clothes.

"You are late!" the cloaked figure stated.

"Forgive me, my Lord but I was verifying some information that you will find interesting!" the man apologized, bowing before the cloaked figure.

"Oh? Do enlighten me!" the man said, curiosity evident in his voice. "And how many times have I told you not to call me Lord!" he chided lightly.

"Forgive me m…Lord Phoenix!" the figure, now known as Phoenix sighed exasperatedly. 'He will never learn!'

"Lord Phoenix, I have located Sanbi!" the man informed. Phoenix straightened his posture and motioned for the man to continue.

"Sanbi or rather his container is called Yagura and is the current Mizukage of Kirigakure no Sato." He informed.

"I see." Phoenix muttered. Kiri was currently in the middle of a civil war. It was known that that the reigning Mizukage had turned against the bloodline users of Kiri and had tried to execute them. The few that had survived the initial slaughter had rebelled against his reign which had led to the present civil war. "This is indeed most interesting news. Well done Saiken!"

Saiken bowed slightly. "I have also found a place that you may find suitable for setting up your base."

"Very good! So where is it?" Phoenix asked.

"It is an abandoned castle near Tanzaku town. People of the town say that it is haunted!" Saiken said.

Phoenix snorted. "Haunted castle near a town! Sounds like something straight out of some thriller novel! Well…" he was interrupted by a sudden spike of energy followed by the sound of explosion a few miles away from their location.

"Looks like a fight!" Saiken pondered. "Or it could be just someone training!"

Phoenix nodded thoughtfully as another explosion broke the silence of the forest. "Saiken, you better get going. Check out the castle and find out what's the real story behind the rumors. Take appropriate measures if necessary. This is your secondary objective. There is no change in your primary objective."

Saiken nodded. "What will you be doing, My Lord?"

"I think I am gonna check what's all that noise is about." Phoeix replied looking in the direction where another explosion just occurred.

Saiken nodded and disappeared in a swirl of water. Phoenix jumped up on a nearby branch and tore off in the direction of the explosions.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Phoenix approached nearer to the explosion point, he became more and more certain that the explosions were the result of a battle and not some training exercise. In the beginning he had sensed around a dozen energy signatures, out of them two were of substantial levels. As time passed the signatures started disappearing one by one until the two most high level ones remained. Just a few seconds ago one of them disappeared while the other's energy level seem to have decreased to critical levels.

Phoenix appeared at the edge of a large clearing to be greeted by an expected but still horrifying and awe-inspiring sight. The entire field was littered with craters and slash marks of varying depth and sizes. But that was not what caught Phoenix's attention. The remaining portion of the field seemed to be filled with semi-molten lava and several bodies were either completely scorched or were slowly dissolving into the molten earth. The smell of burning and melting flesh saturated the air. In the middle of all the carnage was sole spark of life in the form of an auburn haired woman who looked to be critically injured. Phoenix recognized her as the signature that he had sensed fading rapidly.

Having no desire to appear in front of her in his current form, Phoenix quickly transformed himself into a more inconspicuous looking person and jumped off the tree. The woman, who had been kneeling on the ground clutching her stomach which was bleeding profusely, looked up at the sound and immediately jumped to her feet and took out a kunai. Phoenix was impressed by the woman's tenacity and willpower since she seemed barely able to support her weight. She was covered in blood from head to foot and seemed to be bleeding from multiple locations. That she was even able to move was an impressive feat in itself.

"W-who are you? Did that bastard send you to finish the job? Well, what are you waiting for? Come on, I will melt you like the rest of his lackies!" the woman growled taking a defensive stance. Even though she tried to put up a brave front, Phoenix noticed that jade green eyes and voice conveyed a mixture of fear, resignation and pride.

"Relax, I mean no harm. I only want to help you." Phoenix soothed, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Ha, a likely story!" the woman scoffed, her voice slurring slightly. Her eyes were drooping as she desperately tried to stay conscious.

"Here" Phoenix pulled out his sheathed sword from his waist and laid it on the ground. "See, now I am unarmed. I truly want to only help you. You are badly injured and you need my help if you want to survive."

The woman looked confused and slightly relieved at his actions. "Please…help…me!" she mumbled before losing consciousness. Phoenix dashed forward and caught her before she hit the ground. He laid her carefully on the ground and began examining her condition. What he found did not look good, not good at all. Her stomach had been punctured right through, probably by a sword since he spotted a bloodied sword lying nearby. There was also a gaping hole in her left shoulder. She had multiple broken ribs and her right arm seemed to have been broken as well. She had also damaged her lungs and one of her kidneys. She was very low on blood and her breathing was shallow and labored. It was a miracle that she was even alive!

Phoenix swore inwardly. 'Damn it, where's Talon when I need her!' He was no medic, that was Talon's job. Sure he knew quite a bit about healing but his knowledge was nowhere near as extensive as Talon's. 'Looks like I have to do my best and then hope she survives!'

Phoenix coated his hands with healing energy and began applying them on her most critically damaged areas. His brows furrowed in concentration as he made his energy repair the damaged bones, organs and tissues as best he could. During the process more than once he felt her pulse dropping to dangerously low levels and redoubled his efforts.

After three hours of concentrated effort, Phoenix let out a breath of relief as he finished doing all that he was capable of. Her pulse rate was steady and she was finally totally out of danger. At some points it had been touch and go. Phoenix then siphoned off all the dried blood present on her clothes and skin. He conjured some bandages and wrapped them around her stomach, ribs and shoulder region.

Now that the redhead was out of danger, Phoenix finally got a good look at her. To say that the woman was beautiful would be a monumental understatement. She was drop-dead gorgeous. She had flawless creamy skin and a perfectly hourglass shaped figure. Her auburn hair spread out like a curtain behind her and reached down to the small of her back. It framed her face, falling in bangs around it. One of the bangs covered her right eye and gave her mystical look. Her face was heart shaped and her blue lips looked soft and supple. She had a generous bust which her one piece clothing seemed to accentuate. Her blue attire reached just below her knees and had cuts in the middle to facilitate movement. Her shoulders were bare and her shirt sleeves started just below her armpits and extended all the way down. She wore a mesh armour underneath her clothes. She wore shin guards on her calves and standard shinobi sandals on her feet. It was quite clear to Phoenix that this woman knew how she looked and was not shy to use it as a weapon.

'Ok, now I need to take her someplace safe and covered. Then I need to find a few herbs that would accelerate her healing.' Phoenix picked up the woman bridal style and rushed off into the deeper parts of the forest.

"Earth Release: Earth Dome!"

Phoenix made a large dome like structure and carried the woman inside. He laid her down, conjured a blanket over her and lit a fire to keep her warm. He then went back outside and rushed off to find the necessary herbs after casting some security wards around the dome.

While searching for herbs, Phoenix was also pondering over something that had been bothering him ever since he had met the redhead. Whenever he was near her, his magic pulsed rapidly. Its frequency increased even more when he touched her.

'What the hell was happening? Just who was this woman and why was her proximity affecting his magic?'

"_I think I can answer that."_ A familiar voice spoke.

"_Liara…?"_ Phoenix asked.

"_The one and only"_

"_What do you mean you can answer that? You know what's happening to me?"_ Phoenix asked in surprise.

"_Sure do, but I would prefer that all three of you are present since it will affect all of you. Contact them and meet me in your mindscape when you are ready."_ Liara ordered.

"_Ooo…kay!"_ Phoenix muttered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mei groaned as she woke up and for a moment wondered where she was, her eyes opened to try and discern her location but all she could see at the moment were blurs. As she shook her head to clear her vision she tried to remember what happened, she had left for Konoha but was ambushed by almost a dozen Kiri shinobis on her way, her bodyguard had died protecting her and she herself had barely managed to defeat them all but had suffered many wounds in the process, however after that everything was blank and she couldn't remember anything else afterwards but assumed she had been found and her wounds had been treated. But that raised the question of who had found her and where exactly was she.

"I'm glad to see you're finally awake."

Her head snapped to the source of the voice and saw that it was a brown haired man sitting near a fire as he cooked some kind of stew over it. His back was turned towards her so she couldn't see his face. The man was wearing a sapphire blue garb with a white obi tied around his waist. A sword lay on one side against the wall of what looked like some kind of dome like structure. Mei tried to get up but her entire body felt stiff. She quickly took a quick inventory of her present state. She felt a dull pain when she tried to move and found that her right arm, stomach, chest and shoulder were wrapped in bandages. She felt relieved that her clothes did not seem to have been tampered with.

"You shouldn't move so much, your wounds are still healing you know." The man chided gently, his back still towards her. "I am actually surprised that you have regained consciousness, I wasn't expecting you to wake for at least another day."

"How long was I out? Who are you? Where am I?" Mei fired off one question after another, sitting up despite her body's protests.

The man chuckled. "Why don't I answer your questions after dinner, the stew is almost ready and you must be hungry."

As if to answer the question Mei's stomach growled loudly. Mei blushed in embarrassment while the man snickered. "Well, that's one way to answer it!"

Mei watched as the man gave a few more stirs into the pot and took out it out off the fire. He ladled the stew into two earthen bowls and got up. The man finally turned around and Mei finally got a good look at her rescuer's face. Her mouth fell open slightly and she blushed furiously. Only one thought ran through her mind.

'Gorgeous!'

The man was extremely handsome, almost unnaturally so. He was fair skinned which was slightly tanned and had a young yet aristocratic face. His eyes were warm blue and shone like sapphires in the firelight. His shoulder length golden brown hair fell in bangs over his forehead and gave him mysterious look. She vaguely recalled having seen him somewhere.

"You know it's rude to stare!" the man chided playfully and Mei turned a darker shade of red and averted her eyes from him. The man laughed slightly and sat down in front of her. "Here" he said offering her a bowl of stew.

Mei accepted her bowl without looking directly at him, her cheeks still sporting a rosy blush. They ate in silence. Mei not having eaten since…god knows how long, was terribly hungry. After tentatively tasting a spoonful of stew, she found it extremely tasty and began gulping down the rest of it at a pace that would put Naruto's ramen eating skills to shame, much to the amusement of Phoenix.

"So I believe you wanted some answers." Phoenix stated after putting away the bowls.

Mei nodded. "Who are you?"

"My name is Takeshi Kaiza." Phoenix replied, deciding not to tell his real name as it would raise a lot of unwanted question. Besides he was not in his base form at that moment.

"Mei Terumi"

"A beautiful name, but one that suits you. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Takeshi smiled before taking her hand and brushing his lips against her knuckles in curtsey.

Mei froze and her face began inventing new shades of red at his complement and the feel of his lips against her skin.

'Damn it, what is wrong with me? I am supposed to make men blush, not the other way round!' Mei cried inwardly.

"Are you blushing? Your face is all red." Takeshi asked teasingly.

"What?! No, of course not! Why would I do that? It's just the heat, that's all!" Mei sputtered.

"Of course it is!" Takeshi smirked making Mei blush some more and huff in annoyance.

"So where exactly am I?" Mei asked trying to divert the attention from herself, especially her crimson cheeks.

"You are in the middle of a forest some distance away from Konoha. I was on my way to the said village when I heard sounds of explosions. I found you critically injured when I went to investigate…."

"Wait, that was you! You were the one who suddenly appeared out of nowhere just after the battle, weren't you?" Mei exclaimed finally remembering why his face looked familiar. So that must mean…

Takeshi nodded smiling slightly. "That I was. I must say that was quite some battle you must have fought. Taking on a dozen shinobi all by yourself is no easy task!"

"Eleven"

"What?" Takeshi asked in confusion.

"I said I took on eleven enemy ninjas. The twelvth one was my bodyguard. He died protecting me." Mei muttered sadly, her head bowed.

"I am sorry!" Takeshi apologized.

"It's ok" Mei said. "So how long was I out?"

"Four days"

"Four days!" Mei exclaimed in sudden panic. "Damn it, I have to leave right now!" Mei tried to get up but was stopped by Takeshi.

"Hold it! Exactly what do you think you are doing? You are not fully healed, you need rest." Takeshi scolded, holding Mei by the shoulder.

"No, I have wasted enough time already, I must get going!" Mei exclaimed, trying to free herself from Takeshi's hold.

Takeshi sighed. 'Why do every woman I come across turn out to be stubborn ones?' He had some idea why she was so desperate to leave but still in her present condition, leaving may do more harm than good.

"Ok, look it's night now, so how about you rest for the night and you can go wherever you want in the morning, ok?" Takeshi said trying to dissuade Mei from leaving.

"But…" Mei tried, still trying to leave.

"No buts, you need your rest. Whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go, you can do or go in the morning even though I'd have preferred if you had rested a few days more." Takeshi said firmly. "Now come, it's time to change your bandages."

Mei was shaken out of her thoughts of leaving by this announcement. She watched as he gathered the materials required for the task. "Don't try anything!" Mei warned as Takeshi began unwrapping her previous bandages, although it lost some of its edge due to the presence of a pink tinge on her cheeks.

"Wouldn't even dream of it!" Takeshi assured.

Mei was feeling unusually warm as Takeshi went about his task. He was a professional at his work, Mei observed yet his proximity was making Mei feel strange. His touches were precise yet gentle and he wasn't touching her in any inappropriate way. Yet they made her whole body tingle every time. The way he worked was like a doctor, professional but yet not devoid of emotion. Her heart sped up and her cheeks flushed red when she winced a bit and he looked into her eyes and smiled apologetically.

"So where is it that you want to go so urgently, if you don't mind telling?" Takeshi asked conversationally.

Mei was shaken out of her trance by the question and her smile disappeared. Her mind reverted back to thoughts of her people, people who were suffering and were looking up to her for their freedom. She wondered how Ao was doing and how much the condition had deteriorated for her people as each day Yagura's noose tightened around them. It was almost a hopeless condition. As Ao had put it, they needed a miracle to win the war. Or some really big help. That reminded her of her purpose behind coming to this part of the continent. Her mission had already been delayed by the ambush and her subsequent injury. Hell, she might have even failed at her mission if it was not for the handsome young man in front of her. Now at least she had a chance to finish her mission.

Thinking of Takeshi, she wondered if she should tell him about her mission. He _had_ saved her life and _had_ nursed her back to health and for that she was eternally grateful to him. But leading almost her entire life in struggle and surrounded by conflict had taught her not to trust anyone easily. In a deception filled world there was always an ulterior motive behind every action. She didn't know anything about Takeshi. He could be a spy for Yagura for all she knew although she didn't think it was so. He wasn't wearing a headband, so he could be a mercenary. He could sell the information to Yagura for money. Hell, after knowing her identity he may even capture her and hand her over to the Mizukage! She doubted that in her weakened condition she would be able to put up much of a fight.

Yet something told her that she could trust the young man. He could have just left her to die and then claim the bounty on her head. She hated to admit it but was sure that with her death any hope of the rebels winning the bloodline war would have ended. But the young man didn't do that, he had saved her, had nursed her back to health, had kept the hope alive for the rebels.

"Well, that's that" Takeshi's voice shook her out of her thoughts. She saw that his task was complete and was gathering up the discarded bandages. He disposed of them and kneeled down in front of her. "It's time for your beauty sleep!" he said with a smile.

"But I am not feeling sleepy!" Mei protested with a cute pout.

"Be that as it may be, you are not 100% fit and you are going to listen to me until you are…well at least until tomorrow morning." Takeshi corrected himself. "Now get in bed."

Mei got in bed and Takeshi tucked the blanket around her. He then went and sat leaning against the wall beside his sword. "Sweet dreams Mei!" he smiled before closing his eyes.

Mei remained awake for awhile thinking about her mission, her people back home and…Takeshi. Soon her eyes started feeling heavy and sleep claimed her soon after.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You are going to Konoha too?" Takeshi asked, surprised.

It was the next morning. They had woken up and after having some light breakfast were about to go their separate ways when Mei's sudden revelation revealed that their way was in fact the same.

"Yes, I have some business there" Mei revealed.

"What sort of business makes nearly a dozen ninjas want to kill you?" Takeshi asked incredulously.

"That I cannot tell you, sorry!" Mei said apologetically.

"No, no, it's fine. " Takeshi dismissed the apology with a smile. "I am after all a stranger to you! So, shall we go together or do you want to go alone?"

"Let's go together!" Mei smiled.

They jumped from tree to tree racing off towards Konoha at a moderate pace due to Mei's injuries but Takeshi soon stopped them when he noticed Mei wincing slightly with each step.

"That's why I was against this whole idea!" Takeshi said, examining Mei's ribs and stomach. Mei flinched slightly as he prodded a particular area. "Your wounds are not healed properly!"

"I am fine!" Mei grumbled stubbornly.

"No you are not!" Mei yelped, then blushed beet red as Takeshi swept her off her feet and held her bridal style.

"Put me down!" Mei wriggled in his arms trying to get down but her efforts seemed a bit half-hearted.

"Save your strength for the return journey. Besides this way you will reach Konoha much faster!" and without another word raced through the trees at extreme speeds making Mei scream and hold on to him more tightly.

Mei didn't know what she was feeling but was certain that she had never felt like this before. If anyone had attempted what Takeshi did moments ago, he would have lost the very thing that made him man. Yet she didn't mind him doing it. She tried to play it off in her mind that he had good reason and they were slowed down by her injuries but she knew that was not the only reason. He made her feel safe, maybe because he had saved her. Unconsciously, Mei snuggled deeper into his chest, making Takeshi blush a little.

The journey soon ended, much to the secret disappointment of Mei.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways." Takeshi said.

"Looks like it." Mei said a little sadly.

"Hope to see you again, Mei. Take care!" Takeshi smiled and walked off.

"You too!" Mei smiled, wondering if she would ever see the charming man again. But right now she had a country to save and with that grim thought Mei made her way towards the Hokage Tower.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yuna leapt from roof to roof as fast as she could, trying to lose her pursuers. She cursed under her breath for not anticipating such a situation. The brunette had been caught stealing food before but at that time they were not aware of her being a ninja (mostly because of her being garbed in civilian clothes) and she was able to catch them off-guard. But today she wasn't so lucky. Not only was she currently being chased by five ninjas, they also seem to be at least Chuunins, judging by their speed.

"Water Release: Water Ball Jutsu!"

Yuna jumped sideways to avoid getting hit and returned fire with a water ball of her own. She didn't stop to look whether her attack hit its mark but the lack of screaming told her all she wanted to know.

"You can't run forever sweetie!" one of her pursuers shouted.

Yuna fired a water ball at them as her answer and jumped of the roofs. They had reached the edge of the village and Yuna intended to take the chase into the forest where she had a better chance of giving them the slip.

The moment she entered the shadows of the trees, she quickly created a Water Clone of herself and used the Headhunter jutsu to hide herself. Hopefully, the ninjas will take the bait and go after her clone.

"There she is." One of her pursuers shouted and all five of them chased after her.

Yuna waited for a few moments listening to the fading footsteps of her pursuers. Once she was fairly sure that she had managed to give them the slip, she came out of hiding.

"Hmm, maybe I overestimated their skill!" Yuna muttered thoughtfully.

"Or maybe you have not!" Yuna's eyes widened as someone spoke from behind her. The next moment she felt a fist crash into the side of her head, making her go tumbling across the ground. It was only her instincts that helped her shake the cobwebs off her mind and jump off the ground in mid tumble and land on her feet. She immediately sidestepped a kick aimed for her stomach but failed to dodge a punch to her face.

"Darn it!" she cursed as she went sailing across the forest and slammed into a tree. By pure instinct she rolled over sideways to avoid a kunai which lodged itself into the tree trunk. She used chakra to right herself. She noticed a puddle of water near her feet and an idea came to her mind. She quickly went through a few hand signs and molded the last remnants of her chakra for one last desperate attack.

'Hope this works!' she prayed. "Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"

Hundreds of ice needles materialized out of the water in the puddle and dashed at the surprised ninjas. One of them got caught in the attack and was soon turned into a human pincushion but the remaining four managed to either dodge the attack or block it using Earth techniques, much to Yuna's dismay.

"Oh, so you are not only a thief but a lowlife as well!" one of the pursuers, probably their leader, taunted. "Well this makes it even better. Previously we intended to only capture you, now we will kill you."

"Like I will let you" Yuna scoffed taking a defensive stance. Outwardly she might be putting on a brave front but inwardly she was worried and scared. Her last attack had drained her of almost all her chakra, so now she had only Taijutsu to rely on. And four on one…well she was not liking her odds.

"You may bluff all you want but I know that you used up all your chakra on that last attack" the leader smirked and his smirk got even bigger when Yuna only glared at him silently.

Then they attacked. Yuna readied herself to fight an impossible battle. She knew that her chances of surviving this ordeal was nil. If there was only one sopponent, she might have stood a chance, but four on one…

She watched as the ninjas got ever closer. Sweat rolled down the sides of her face and she tightened her grip on her kunai.

The ninjas were only a few feet away from her when a lot of things happened almost simultaneously. One moment the ninjas were dashing towards her with smirks on their faces and arm poised to strike, the next moment something landed between her and the ninjas. Almost immediately it disappeared and reappeared behind the ninjas and the ninjas stopped dead in their tracks.

Yuna's eyes widened when all the ninjas clutched at their throats as a slit appeared on them and blood gushed out from them. They fell on their knees, trying to stem the flow of blood in vain. She took a few steps back in disgust and horror as the leader tried to say something, but instead of sound only blood poured out of his mouth. It wasn't much longer that all of them died of blood loss.

She snapped out of horror driven stupor and looked up at the sound of footsteps. The thing that had killed her opponents in the blink of an eye was walking towards her and it was then that she noticed that the _thing_ was actually a man, _a very handsome man_.

Yuna blushed beet red as her deep brown eyes took in the appearance of the man. He was dressed in a blue garb with a white obi tied around his waist. A sheathed katana was tucked into his obi. He looked to be in his early twenties and had the most handsome face Yuna had ever seen in her sixteen years short lifespan.

"Are you alright?" the man asked. Yuna quietly sighed, even the man's voice was musical.

"Y-yes, I-I mean no" Yuna stuttered.

The man looked amused. "So is it a yes or no?"

Yuna flushed in embarrassment. "No" she muttered, still red in the face.

"Here let me see" the man said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Yuna almost panicked as her body got covered in a green glow. "Don't panic, I am only examining you for injuries!" the man explained.

Yuna visibly relaxed and watched as the man examined her, his eyes closed and face scrunched up in concentration.

"Hmm, three broken ribs, a fractured femur and a few cuts and scratches. Not that bad. I can fix them in a jiffy." He mumbled. Warmth began spreading throughout Yuna's body and she slowly felt her pain disappearing along with the cuts and bruises she had suffered.

"There, all done!" the man said after sometime, withdrawing his hand from her shoulder. Yuna twisted and turned her body experimentally and was shocked that except the exhaustion, she was perfectly fine.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "Thank you very much!"

"No need for thank yous, we bloodline people should stick together!" the man smiled.

Yuna gasped. "You are a bloodline user too?"

"I sure am!" the man extended his arm, palm facing upwards and Yuna watched in amazement as slowly the moisture droplets in the air coalesced together and then froze, forming a perfect ice shenbon. "The name's Takeshi Kaiza!"

"Yuna Yamamoto"

"So, what's this about you being a thief?" Takeshi asked curiously.

"Got caught stealing food" Yuna sighed.

Takeshi grimaced. "Are things really that bad in the Water Country?" Yuna looked at Takeshi strangely. "Ah, I am not from these parts. I am just a wandering swordsman. I arrived in this country only a few days ago." Takeshi explained, noticing Yuna's look.

Yuna nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. The Mizukage has issued a 'Kill on sight' order against us and the village where I live is a Kiri stronghold. So, why are you in this country?"

"I thought maybe I could join with the other rebels and help out a bit." Takeshi shrugged.

Yuna nodded. "Well if you are looking for the rebel camp, you have come the wrong way. The camp is towards the east but the area between here and the camp is teeming with the Mizukage's force."

Takeshi tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, well I am not that disappointed. After all if I had gone the right way, you would have been dead." He smiled at Yuna.

Yuna blushed and looked down. "Yes…thank you!"

"You are welcome." Takeshi grinned. "Well, I must get going." He started walking towards the village.

"Wait, didn't you hear anything I said? That village is filled with Kiri shinobis, it's not safe for you." Yuna said, catching upto him and walking alongside him.

"Relax, I am sure I will be fine." Takeshi assured.

They walked in silence for a while. Yuna seemed to be doing some serious thinking. Takeshi was cool and alert as always. Soon the village came in sight.

"Um, Takeshi-san…." Yuna mumbled hesitantly.

"Yes…" Takeshi prompted.

Yuna blushed and looked down, confusing Takeshi. "I-I was wondering if you might consider staying with me and my family. Our hideout is very well hidden and quite secure and, well…" she trailed off.

Takeshi was taken aback by the offer. "Yuna, I appreciate the offer but I don't want to impose."

"No, no, it's no problem at all. I am sure my parents wouldn't mind and…" Yuna blushed cutely and trailed off, staring hopefully at Takeshi. "…we bloodline users should stick together, right?"

Takeshi chuckled at his words thrown back at him and fell in deep thought. The offer was logically sound. Yuna and her family knew the area better than him. He was practically in the dark in this region. Takeshi decided to go along with the idea for the time being. It would give him inside news on the current condition in these parts and also what to expect on his way to the rebel camp.

"Ok!" Takeshi smiled. "But first we have some food stuffs to buy…and I am paying."He added firmly.

Yuna nodded, smiling brightly and led the way into the village.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	4. Bloodline Wars: Part II

**BLOODLINE WARS: PART II**

* * *

_**A/N: Well here's another chapter! Enjoy!**_

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

* * *

The door bell tinkled as a blue haired man wearing Kiri Jounin dress entered a bar in Hiroko town. He made his way over to the bar casually and tapped on the counter to get the attention of the bartender.

"Yes, what can I…oh, hello there Rio, long time no see!" the bartender exclaimed in surprise, recognizing the person.

Rio answered with a lazy grin. "Yeah, there was change in plans during the last mission…and well, it took longer than anticipated."

"Everything alright?" the bartender enquired serving him his drink.

"Yeah, those idiot bloodline users got their ass kicked big time!" Rio grinned.

The bartender laughed heartily. "I am sure they did! So, how many did you get?"

"That's the best part. Our team actually didn't fight at all!" Rio grinned, gulping down another glass of sake.

"Huh!"

"They were after our weapon cache that we were importing from Iwa. But we knew about their plan, so we gave them a false trail. They were in for a blast when they intercepted our decoy!" Rio said, laughing and chugging down another glass of sake.

"Hahaha, that's rich!" the bartender joined in the laughing.

Rio stayed at the bar for a bit longer, gossiping with Hioshi, the bartender. He bid goodbye to Hioshi and left the bar. He, however, failed to notice that he was being followed.

Rio made his way slowly through the town. He was passing through the market area of the town when it happened. One moment he was lazily staring at the various items on sale, the next moment he felt something hit the back of his neck and the world around him faded into darkness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Captain, get up! Come on Captain, please get up…it's urgent!"

Rio blearily opened his eyes and immediately regretted it as they were assaulted by bright sunlight. Add to that he was experiencing a head splitting headache…well, he was not feeling too good.

"Captain…" someone shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Rio shouted as his head gave a particular painful throb. "Not so loud!" 'Damn, I shouldn't have drunk so much sake last night' he thought.

"Sorry, Captain…but it's urgent!"

"What is it?" he grumbled as he got up. He looked around and saw that he was lying against a wall. 'Damn, I really should control how much I drink!' he thought, sweat-dropping.

"Sir, the weapon cache that our team brought yesterday has been stolen." The ninja who had woken Rio up informed him.

"What!?" Rio snapped his head sharply towards the ninja making him flinch in fear. "How does a whole caravan full of weapon guarded by nearly two dozen ninjas get stolen?"

"I-I don't know, sir. When I got to base this morning, I found everyone of our ninjas unconscious and the caravan was missing. I immediately set out to find you. Why were you sleeping here sir?"

"Too much sake!" Rio mumbled vaguely. "Come on let's get back to base."

When he reached base, he found the scene just as was described by the informer. He and the informer quickly roused the rest of the ninjas and began interrogating them about the events of the previous night. To Rio's dismay and frustration, everyone of them gave the same information: everyone of them felt someone hit them on the back of their neck and then they lost consciousness.

Rio was baffled…and worried. He couldn't comprehend just how can someone or most likely, a group of someones, take out an entire base filled with more than two dozen ninjas without anyone even getting a glimpse of them. The group that did this must have been of exceptional skill and since at present only the bloodlines would benefit from the weapons cache, the group must consist of a group of bloodline users. The mere thought scared him, but what scared him more was what was going to happen to him when he would report this to the Mizukage. The mere thought chilled him to the bone.

"Alright, listen up everyone! Whoever stole the caravan couldn't have gotten much far from here, so spread out and find me that caravan. Terminate anyone that tries to stop you. I want that weapons cache in front of me by evening. Is that understood?" Rio shouted.

"HAI!" the ninjas in the base chorused.

"Then move out!" the ninjas suinshined away at the command. Rio sat down tiredly, hoping to receive some positive news by evening and silently cursing whoever caused this trouble.

The said person stood on top a roof of a nearby building, watching the entire spectacle with an amused smirk on his face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Are you out of your mind?" Yuna's father, Yoshiro, shouted in disbelief.

The entire Yamamoto family, along with Takeshi, were having a quiet lunch when Takeshi decided to drop the proverbial bomb, namely his plans to take them with him to the rebel camp all the while passing through Yagura's territory that also included a military outpost.

Takeshi, to his credit, remained unfazed by the outburst, merely raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"You honestly expect us to accept this insane plan of yours and follow you to not only yours but also ours deaths?" the middle aged man asked incredulously.

"Takashi-san, I understand that you mean good but the path is too dangerous, we won't be able to make it to the camp." Shina, Yuna's mother, put in. Yoshiro nodded in agreement. Yuna seemed conflicted while her 8 year old brother just watched the entire spectacle with innocent curiosity.

"A month or so ago Shiba, a friend of mine also attempted what you are proposing; he and his family didn't even make it to the next town." Yoshiro said. His wife and daughter nodded sadly.

"It's true that the path is dangerous and if we are not vigilant we will all die but I still believe that it's the right thing to do because if you stay here, you all will surely die, if not at the hands of Yagura's men, then surely of hunger. The security of this town has been drastically increased and there are rumors going on that reinforcement have been called in from Kiri." Takeshi informed, causing them to gasp in surprise.

"Why would they do that? Is it because of that incident with Yuna and you?" Shina asked in worry.

"Partly; but mostly it's because apparently a group of rebels had managed to infiltrate the base camp in this town, render everyone unconscious and made off with a huge cache of weapons stored there." Takeshi explained. "Impressive feat if I may say so!" he added with a smirk.

Takeshi inwardly chuckled at the slack jawed astonishment exhibited by the entire Yamamoto family (Yuna's brother, Yishiro, imitated the rest of his family).

"Wow!" Yuna managed to say after sometime. Yoshiro and Shina nodded dumbly in agreement.

"Wow indeed!" Takeshi agreed, "But as I told before, it has put everyone on alert…the entire town's going to be practically under curfew within the next few days. It's best that we all get out before that."

"Sure it will be difficult, but we have survived this long, I am sure we can manage for sometime more. Besides, if the rebels have managed to infiltrate a town so close to Kiri then the revolution must be going well…we might win soon." Yoshiro argued stubbornly. Shina and Yuna, however seemed to have second thoughts.

Takeshi inwardly groaned in frustration. "Need I remind you that had it not been for me, you would have already been a member short, and that was _before_ this incident. Are you sure you all will be able to survive _after_ the incident?" he asked. Yoshiro winced as he remembered how close he had been to losing his daughter. "At the end of the day it's your family, I have no right to decide what's good for it but I implore you to reconsider my offer. I will be leaving by midnight today, you have until then to decide." Takeshi continued, getting up from his seat.

Yuna gasped. "You're leaving?" she asked sadly.

Takeshi smiled gently at the teenager. During his stay at the Yamamoto household, he had realized, much to his dismay, that Yuna had developed a massive crush on him, seeking every opportunity to strike a conversation with him. She had even cooked dinner for him one night, much to the astonishment of her parents because according to a giggling Shina, Yuna hated cooking.

"I have to get to the rebel camp; that was my original intention" Takeshi explained to a teary eyed Yuna. He made his way out of the kitchen but stopped at the door.

"One more thing; this war is being fought for the freedom of all bloodline users of Water Country. As a bloodline user, don't you think that you should also contribute in the war effort instead of just waiting it out? Think about it." He left the room, leaving the family, especially Yoshiro, to ponder on his words.

No one brought up the topic of leaving for the rest of the day. Takeshi spent most of the time either scouting the surrounding area or in his room, double checking everything needed for his journey.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Yoshiro looked like he wanted to say something but stopped every time. Shina was solemn and…Yuna was most depressed and was glancing in his direction every now and then.

"Just in case I don't see you all when I am leaving, I want you all to know that I am extremely grateful to you all for letting me stay with you. Thank you very much, it has been a pleasure knowing you all." Takeshi said, getting up.

"No, no, dear, the pleasure is all ours. If it hadn't been for you, we would have lost Yuna." Shina said. Takeshi nodded, smiling and left the room.

Takeshi sighed. It was almost time to leave. He really wanted to take Yuna and her family away from this hellhole but it looked like he wouldn't be able to do so. He was about to Flash away when there was a knock on his door. He opened it to see Yoshiro standing there.

"We have decided to take you up on that offer." Yoshiro said.

"Why the sudden change of mind?" Takeshi asked, surprised but inwardly pleased.

"I thought about what you said and…well…I agree that we are not safe here…and also…you were right, it's our fight, we should all do our part in it." Yoshiro replied.

Takeshi smiled widely. "Assemble everyone in the living-room, we will leave in 5 minutes."

"Alright, everyone hold each other's hands and one of you hold mine." Takeshi ordered as everyone gathered around him. They did as told with a red faced Yuna, unsurprisingly, ending up holding his hand. Takeshi touched his forehead with the forefinger and index finger of his free hand and disappeared with everyone using Distortion Flash.

They reappeared in the middle of a forest an instant later.

"Where are we?" Yoshiro asked warily.

"We are three miles east of the town and outside the patrol radius." Takeshi informed, looking around. "Let's go."

The group, led by Takeshi, made their way towards the general direction of the rebel camp under the cover of darkness, eager to reach their destination as quickly as possible and wondering if they would be able to get there safely and what awaited them once they do.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mei sat behind a desk going over some strategies that were discussed in the previous meeting. It had been nearly two weeks since she had returned from Konoha empty handed.

'Bunch of hypocrites' Mei fumed as she remembered the Hokage's response to her request.

_I sympathize with your situation but I am afraid that we can't interfere in the internal affairs of Kiri. _

For a village that prided itself for the number of bloodline clans it housed, it sure didn't give a damn about what happened to the bloodline users of other villages.

Mei had been extremely hopeful and desperate to get some help from Konoha because as much as she hated to admit it, things were not going well for the rebels. Sure, their camp was well hidden and quite secure but they had made zero progress in their attempts to infiltrate Kiri. Their last attempt had failed miserably. Hundreds of rebels had died in that attempt. Since then the Mizukage had reinforced its border making it nigh impossible for them to attack Kiri directly. There was also the problem of numbers; while the rebels had only about 300 ninjas at their disposal, the Mizukage had nearly 10 times that much.

There was also the matter of the ambush on her and the recent loss of ten of her ninjas when a supposed caravan loaded with weapons imported from Iwa turned out to be a trap set up by the enemy. These incidents weighed heavily on her mind and made her think things that she didn't want to entertain. Her only comfort was that her spies had informed her that the actual cargo had been stolen from right under the enemy's nose. Rumor was that the cargo was stolen by the rebels and that puzzled her because as far as she remembered, she hadn't authorized any such mission. Hell, she didn't even know the actual location of the cargo!

Mei got up from her seat and stretched to rid herself of the kinks that had developed due to remaining in one position for a too long. She experimentally twisted herself and grinned when she felt no pain. The injuries she had suffered had healed completely and she was back to a hundred percent.

Mei blushed lightly as thinking about the injuries reminded her of someone who had often been on her mind ever since her return from Konoha. Her blush deepened as she remembered him carrying her bridal style. She wondered what he was doing at present and if she would ever meet him again.

"Come in" she ordered on hearing someone knock on her door.

A man wearing standard Kiri shinobi outfit and an eye patch over one of his eyes entered the room.

"What is it Ao?" Mei asked her second-in-command.

"Mei-sama, our scouts have apprehended a group of people heading towards the camp. They claim to be bloodline users from Hiroko town and had travelled this way in search of refuge." Ao informed.

"Hiroko town?" Mei frowned, the name rang a bell. "Isn't that the same town from where the weapons were stolen?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ao agreed.

"Hmm, very well, bring them to camp. As soon as they get here, bring them to me." Mei ordered.

"Pardon me Mei-sama, but is this wise? For all we know they could be spies for the Mizukage." Ao said, hesitantly.

"Or they could be the group that stole those weapons. Do as I say Ao!" Mei replied firmly.

"Hai!" Ao bowed and left Mei to her thoughts.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"T-Takeshi?" Mei stuttered in disbelief as she stared wide eyed at the man standing in front of her.

"Hey Mei!" Takeshi acknowledged jovially. "It's good to see you again!"

The audience that consisted of the Yamamoto family and Ao was surprised by the apparent familiarity between them.

"Mei-sama, you know this man?" Ao asked.

"Yes, he is the one that nursed me back to health when I was injured. What are you doing all the way out here in the Water Country?" Mei addressed Takeshi, indicating towards Yuna and her family.

"Remember I told you that I was heading towards Konoha?" Mei nodded. "Well, I was headed there to stock up on some supplies before heading here. Coming to Water Country and lending my help to the bloodline faction had always been my plan, even before meeting you."

"Why didn't you tell me back then?" Mei asked.

"You never asked!" Takeshi answered cheekily.

Mei laughed heartily. "I guess I didn't! But I think I can forgive you since I never told you about myself either!"

"I am so relieved to hear that!" Takeshi sighed exaggeratedly in relief. "So did you get any help from Konoha?"

Mei sighed angrily. "No! Bunch of hypocrites!"

Takeshi nodded understandingly. "It's kind of expected. They would gain nothing from this alliance unless the rebels were to succeed, which is still uncertain. Most people don't want to help unless they have something to gain from it."

"True; so tell me what do you gain from helping us?" Mei asked curiously.

"Nothing!"

"Then why do you want to help us?" Mei asked, curious. Yuna, her family and Ao also looked on, interested in the answer.

"Apart from being a fellow bloodline user? Because it's the right thing to do!" Takeshi chuckled at the surprised expressions on everyones faces. "Besides, it's an added bonus that I get to work alongside a strong and beautiful woman as you, isn't it?" Takeshi added with a cheeky grin.

Mei blushed bright red while Ao's eyes widened in shock. 'Mei-sama blushed?' he thought. Mei was known for her flirtatious and cheerful personality. She made others blush but nobody had ever seen her blush.

Behind Takeshi, Yuna was feeling extremely jealous and sad. Her fist clenched tightly as she glared from Takeshi to Mei. 'Takeshi fancies her' she thought sadly, 'No wonder he never responded to any of my advances.'

Mei reigned in her blush and not wanting to be outdone, sauntered over to Takeshi. "I accept your offer of help. I think we will get along _very well_!" she purred seductively, making Takeshi blush slightly. Mei inwardly grinned in victory. "Who are they?" Mei asked Takeshi, indicating towards Yuna and her family.

However before Takeshi could answer, Yuna spoke up glaring at Mei. "Takeshi-san was staying with us back at Hiroko town."

Mei was a bit taken aback by the intense glare Yuna was directing at her. 'Looks like someone is jealous!' Mei thought.

Meanwhile Takeshi groaned inwardly. 'Ah, Yuna!'

"Anyway, you are all no doubt tired from the journey. Go and take rest, Ao will show you where you all will be staying. Takeshi, since I like to know the skills of the people who will fight alongside me, you will have to take part in a friendly spar with one of my ninjas tomorrow morning. I hope you don't mind?"

Takeshi nodded understandingly before proceeding to follow the others out of the tent but was stopped by Mei's voice. He turned around and before he knew it, Mei kissed him on the cheek, lingering a little longer than normally what was considered friendly.

"I never got to thank you properly for saving my life!" Mei explained, turning away quickly to hide her cheeks which had gained the same color as her hair.

Takeshi nodded numbly, a slight blush adorning his cheeks, before leaving the room.

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Takeshi patiently stood in the middle of a small clearing. The early morning wind danced around him licking his face and disturbing the calmness of the water surface of the narrow stream that cleaved the clearing in two parts. His gaze was fixed on the tall muscular man standing a few yards away from him. The man wore standard Kiri shinobi attire and had a tanto strapped to his back.

Mei along with her bodyguard Chojiro and a few senior nins stood on one side of the clearing waiting for the spar to begin. She was calm and cheerful on the outside but on the inside she was extremely curious and eager to see what Takeshi was capable of. Yuna was also there and was equally excited because she had also never seen him fight. The one time that he had saved her didn't count. Ao was in the middle with Takeshi and Geso, his opponent, since he was acting as referee.

"I hear that you are not part of any of the Elemental nation's shinobi forces?" Geso asked.

"You heard right!" Takeshi answered calmly.

Geso smirked slightly. "Why is that? Are you so weak that no one will accept you in their force or are you a fraud, a pathetic mercenary pretending to be a shinobi?" he taunted.

Mei knew that Geso was just trying to rile Takeshi up but that didn't stop her from glaring at Geso. Thankfully, Geso remained oblivious to it as also to the glare that Yuna was directing at him.

Takeshi recognized Geso's intentions and remained unfazed by the taunt. He grinned slightly, "That is for me to know and you to find out!"

"Hajime!" Ao shouted.

Geso wasted no time to throw a kunai at Takeshi which he dodged by casually sidestepping it. Geso dashed at Takeshi and engaged him in a Taijutsu battle. He was quite fast and adept in hand-to-hand combat but was nothing that Takeshi couldn't handle. Every blow, every punch, every kick was dodged. Takeshi danced around Geso's appendages, infuriating their owner with each passing second.

"Standstill, damn it!" Geso yelled.

"Ok!" Takeshi stopped moving around, much to the surprise of Geso. But that didn't help him in the slightest as the next set of blows were blocked with casual ease by Takeshi.

'He is playing with Geso!' Mei thought as she watched another of Geso's punch being blocked by Takeshi.

"Are you going to defend all day or what?" Geso asked, panting slightly. He was fuming that he had not been able to land a single punch on Takeshi till then.

"Getting frustrated, are we? I wonder why though!" Takeshi tapped his chin in mock thoughtful manner. "Let me guess, is it because you, a strong Kiri rebel shinobi, is yet to land a blow on a weak, fraud and pathetic mercenary like me?"

Geso growled angrily and dashed at Takeshi, taking out his tanto on the way. He slashed at him and was shocked when Takeshi caught the blade between his thumb and forefinger.

"Amateur!" he muttered before delivering a sharp jab to Geso's shoulder with his free hand. Instantly Geso felt his arm going numb and lost his hold on the tanto. He stumbled backward a little holding his numb arm.

"What did you do to my arm?" Geso snarled.

"I rendered your arm useless for sometime by channeling some chakra through a specific pressure point." Takeshi explained. "This match is over; surrender!"

"I won't lose to a villageless shinobi like you!" Geso snarled and charged at him. Takeshi sighed and ducked a roundhouse kick to the head. Putting on a burst of speed, he appeared behind Geso and delivered a chop to the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious.

Mei and the others were quite shocked at the ease with which Takeshi had defeated Geso. Geso may not have been the strongest but he was still a Jounin level shinobi; for him to be defeated so quickly and easily…it was quite unnerving!

"The winner is Takeshi Kaiza!" Ao declared.

Takeshi walked back towards where Mei and the others were standing.

"Not bad!" Mei smirked.

"Nah! He let his emotions cloud his judgment!" Takeshi answered dismissively.

Mei nodded. Geso had let his belief that a villageless ninja is not fit to be called a ninja and therefore do not deserve to stand amongst those that are part of a village cloud his judgment and made him act irrationally.

"Oh, I forgot to give this to you yesterday." Takeshi said, tossing a scroll towards Mei.

"What is it?" Mei asked.

"Oh, nothing much, just the weapons Yagura was importing from Iwa!" Takeshi smirked and walked away, whistling a tune, leaving a shocked audience behind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A week had passed since his fight against Geso and Takeshi had integrated himself among the rebels quite well. His flawless victory against Geso and later on the revelation that it was him that had infiltrated the base camp in Hiroko town and stolen the weapons, had helped a lot in that direction.

Takeshi fought down the urge to laugh as he remembered the dumbstruck expressions on everyone's faces when he had further revealed that he had accomplished the task all by himself. He, of course, had left out the part about implanting a false memory in the captain's mind.

The news of his accomplishments had travelled fast and that turned out to be both a blessing and curse. On one hand it had gained him the respect and admiration of the majority of the rebels, on the other hand it had also gained him the unwanted attention of the females present in the camp, both ninja and civilian alike, much to Yuna's chagrin!

Another unwanted or more appropriately, irritating outcome of his spar was…Geso! Geso had approached him later that evening and confessed that he had gained his respect. Then to Takeshi's horror, he had struck a pose that looked eerily familiar and said that he considered him his eternal rival and won't rest until he had defeated him. Takeshi had cried buckets of anime tears that night wondering what sins he had committed to get this Kiri version of Gai!

He had also gotten to know a few people among the rebels. Ao was an aged war veteran with a patch over one of his eyes, hiding a Byakugan that had been implanted in it. He was Mei's second-in-command and chief tactical advisor.

Chojiro was a blue haired swordsman and a member of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of Kiri. He was a shy boy, even more so in the presence of Mei on whom he seemed to have a crush. He was Mei's personal bodyguard.

He had also been approached by the Elders of Mei's advisory body, thanking him for saving Mei's life. Most of them belonged to bloodline families, except two. Takeshi had been surprised that not everyone among the rebels was bloodline users.

Then there was the leader herself. Takeshi found out that Mei had a cheerful and flirtatious personality most of the time but can be downright scary when she wanted to be, something which Ao experienced on a daily basis. She was hardly seen by anyone most of the day, being cooped up in the main tent going over strategies and performing other duties of a leader. When she had some downtime, she would often track him down and engage him in conversation, much to Yuna's displeasure. She had been especially curious about why he had never joined the shinobi forces of a village.

_Shinobis of a village often have to do things which are morally wrong, but is good for the village. I prefer to do what I feel is right, no matter the consequences. Being an official shinobi of a village won't give me that freedom. Take this war for example, if I had been part of Konoha's forces, I would not have been here now, would I?_ He had answered, surprising Mei.

His companions from Hiroko town had also settled in quite well. After seeing him fight first hand, Yuna had become extremely serious about her training, often doing it to the point of exhaustion. Yoshiro helped out by imparting his ninja knowledge to the young ones in the camp while his wife did her part in the infirmary and cooking department.

"Mind if I sit?" Takeshi was shaken from his thoughts by a familiar voice. He turned around to see Mei standing behind him with a smile on her face.

Takeshi smiled, "Not at all!"

"Deep thoughts?" Mei asked, taking a seat beside him.

"Nah, just reminiscing!" Takeshi replied, taking a sip of tea from his cup. "Tea?" he asked Mei.

"Please." Mei said. "You seem to have become quite popular…especially among the women!" Mei said, noticing a few girls staring at him, a few were even bold enough to glare at Mei.

Takeshi exhaled, annoyed. "Tell me about it! Man, I can't even move around without girls swooning around me. Never thought fan-girls existed in a warzone." Mei burst out laughing at that while accepting a cup of tea from Takeshi. It sounded musical to Takeshi.

"You have a beautiful laugh" Takeshi said, smiling. Mei immediately stopped laughing, blushing furiously.

"T-Thanks!" Mei stuttered, suddenly finding the teacup in her hand very interesting.

"How's your day been?" Takeshi asked.

Mei sighed. "Same as usual, boring and hectic! What about you?"

"Boring! When am I going to go on a mission?" Takeshi asked.

"Ah, that was the reason I came here. You are to report to Ao in ten minutes for your mission briefing!" Mei informed, getting up.

"About time!" Takeshi cheered enthusiastically, eliciting a giggle from Mei.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Takeshi crouched low on the ground atop a hill overlooking a small forest clearing. Beside him was Ao and behind him were Yuna and two others. In the clearing below was a slaver camp. Apparently Yagura had made some deal with a slave trader and was selling him the female bloodline users that were captured. The mere thought sickened Takeshi and made him want to tear Yagura and the slave trader apart.

Their mission was to extract the females, eliminating all resistance in the process and if possible gather any information regarding the anonymous slave trader.

"Twelve targets, four of them ninjas" Ao counted, his Byakugan activated. "Go! I will keep a lookout!"

"Hai!" Takeshi and the others chorused, leaping into action.

"Alright, there are four of us, so three targets for each. I will deal with the leader " Takeshi commanded.

The slavers and ninjas outside the tent were dealt with swiftly and silently. Takeshi slowly crept into the tent where no doubt the leader resided. The sight that met him made his blood boil. A woman was tied up to a bed, gagged and absolutely naked. A muscular man was hovering above her, licking her in a sick manner. Tears were streaming down the cheeks of the woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties and was quite goodlooking. The woman struggled to free herself but it only resulted in earning her a slap from the man.

"Now, be a good girl and let me taste you properly." The man smiled perversely and moved to enter her.

Takeshi had had enough. At first his intention was to capture the man alive but that went out of the window the moment he had peeked inside the tent. He dashed forward and shoved a knife right through the man's throat. The woman's eyes widened in a mixture of horror and relief on seeing his captor choking on his own blood and a man standing beside the bed looking at him coldly.

Takeshi turned towards the women, making her flinch visibly. "Hey no need to be afraid, we are here to rescue you, we are from the rebel camp. Wait a second!" He said and walked out of the tent.

"Yuna, there's a naked woman inside the tent. She was about to be raped and is quite traumatized. I think she would feel more comfortable around a woman." Takeshi said. Yuna nodded and left. The others had, in the meanwhile, freed the other females in the camp from the cages in which they were held.

By the time Yuna came out with the woman, Ao had also joined them.

"Ao-taicho?" the woman, who now had a cloak wrapped around her, exclaimed in surprise.

"Sho?" Ao exclaimed in disbelief.

"You know her?" Takeshi asked Ao.

Ao nodded. "Her name is Sho Uki. She is a spy for the rebels. A few weeks ago she was rumored to be dead." Ao explained. "How are you still alive Sho? They even found your body!"

"Maybe that's a henge!" one of his teammates suggested. "Kai!" Nothing happened.

"How?" Ao asked.

"Taicho, please take me to Mei-san, I will explain everything. I have some information that will turn the tides of this war!" Sho pleaded.

"Ok, let's go everyone!" Ao ordered.

They reached the camp an hour later. All the women except Sho were immediately sent to the infirmary. Ao had wanted to do the same to Sho but Sho insisted that the information was critical and there was no time to waste.

So, now she was sitting in front of Mei surrounded by her advisors and bodyguards. Everyone was shocked by her sudden appearance.

"So, what is this information that you wanted to deliver?" Mei asked.

Sho composed herself since she was still shaken from being nearly raped. "Mei-san, a few weeks ago I managed to infiltrate into Yagura's office while he was away on patrol. I found out that…there is a traitor amongst us…"

The entire room erupted in chaos at this declaration.

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_**Distortion Flash**__: Instant Transmission method of travelling from Dragon Ball Z_

_**A/N: The ending is a bit rushed but I wanted to get to the grand finale which, is the next chapter, quickly!**_

_**About the girls included in the harem: Mei is in as is obvious. the others are(apart from Fleur and Tonks, of course!):**_

_**Anko**_

_**Yugito**_

_**Tsunade**_

_**One or two surprise girls from Bleach(Hint: one of them has a personality somewhat like Tonks, the other can be related to Yugito in some aspects)**_

_**Kurenai and Yugao(maybe, but if included, both will be there)**_

_**Konan(not sure, maybe if story permits it)**_

_**Any suggestions are welcome!**_


End file.
